Love is A Game
by TrueYouth
Summary: Rose Hathaway is a mother to three children. Dimitri Belikov is a trainer at a gym and he helps Rose to practice self-defence. As Rose and Dimitri grow closer and closer more secrets are revealed. What's Rose's story and why did she come to Dimitri for help with her self-defence training? So many answers and only the story can give you the answers ...
1. Chapter 1

**Hola Amigos! This is my fourth FanFiction and it's inspired by the amazing fanfic by RozaBelikova-x called "And Then You Came Along". It won't be **_**very**_** much like it since I have a little different idea of the plot *evil smile*. And don't forget that the chapter can include spelling/grammar mistakes since English is not a first language to me but I'm going to correct everything when I'm done with the story ;)**

**I won't more now but enjoy!**

**(OBS! Will be written from both DPOV and RPOV)**

**ALL HUMAN!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or its characters. All credit to Richelle Mead. The story is mine though :)**

**DPOV **

"Dimitri, can you take the next in line?" Alberta called from behind the desk where it stood a long line of people waiting for their turn.

"Sorry but I'm booked in just fine minutes. I'll call Stan and some of the others to help us out!" I answered in a loud voice. I could hear her sigh but I did as I promised and called Stan asking him to contact some of the others.

I couldn't really understand why the gym was so hectic today. We were usually pretty booked but today people stood waiting in a ten meter line just to get a time before next week. Why not call? I'd been working here at the gym for almost four years now and I got enough money to pay my little house just outside town. I owned that house, a car (a Black BMW 320d Touring), and of course some other stuff you needed.

After hanging up my phone started ringing and it was the girl who should be here now. I could hear her heavy breathing as if she was running.

"Hello?" I said and after a few seconds she answered.

"Oh hi! I'm sorry, I'm a little late! I was supposed to meet you at – oh shit! Now, I was supposed to meet you now! I'll be there in a minute!" She hung up and there I stood, phone still by my ear.

I waited and after exactly one minute a girl came running into the lobby. I didn't believe it was "my" girl until she came straight up to be and asked,

"Are you Dimitri Belikov?" I nodded slowly examining her. It must have been raining since her hair looked like she'd just been taking a shower – and so did her clothes. She was so beautiful, like _really_ beautiful… Her hair looked black when it was wet so I guessed that it was actually very dark brown and her eyes had the same dark colour. She had kind of a sexy, exotic look over her. Perfectly formed curves and… _What the hell Dimitri! This is not the girl to think these thoughts about!_

I knew that she was a mother to three children but I didn't know much about her husband though, I didn't even know her name, I realized.

"Sorry because I'm late Mr. Belikov, I have an excuse –" I interrupted her by putting up my hand to say stop.

"Your excuse is not needed. I understand but… Are you going to exercise in those clothes?" She looked down at her clothes and then up at me again.

"It was raining…" She gave me a hint of a smile but I didn't find it funny. It wasn't very good exercising in wet clothes. The first – and only – time I'd done it was when I was running and my training clothes came directly from the wash and wasn't dry yet but I hadn't been caring. I got very sick two days later…

"Come on." I gestured for her to follow me and she did. We went into the staff locker room and I started to dig in my locker for some clothes that could maybe fit her. I found a white tee shirt and a pair of trousers that she could borrow. I handed them over to her and she looked a little embarrassed.

"Oh, it's fine. You don't have to let me borrow your clothes." She said as she blushed.

"I won't let you exercise in wet clothes, so you better loan them." I raised an eyebrow and she took them. Just then Alberta came into the locker room.

"Oh, hi." She said and looked at the girl – whatever her name was – with a shocked expression.

"Her clothes are wet." I said with ease and shrugged.

"You think that she can have your clothes Mr. Tall?" Alberta joked and laughed at her own joke. I couldn't help but to let through a small smile. Alberta had this atmosphere around her that could make anyone feel safe when being together with her.

"She'll probably be able to wear my shirt but I'm not so sure about the trousers." I admitted and the girl just stood there quiet.

"I'm sure I've got a pair that you could borrow Ms…?" Alberta now gave the girl her attention. The girl looked like she'd just been waking up from a dream.

"Oh, Hathaway. My name is Rose Hathaway." She gave Alberta a shy smile.

"I'll be waiting in gym two." I gave Rose – what a good name to such a beautiful girl – a small smile before heading out.

Rose entered the gym a few minutes later, dressed in my tee shirt and Alberta's training trousers. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail and she gave me a big smile now.

"Sorry, I totally forgot to present myself earlier." She excused and stretched out her hand to me where I was lying down on the floor, reading one of my western books. I stood up and took her hand.

"Don't worry about it, really. I'm just happy you made it. I don't have anything to do after my training with you so it doesn't matter at all." I laughed at how worried she was. Did she think I would kick her out of the gym, head first? I laughed at my inner joke and she gave me a confused look.

"Anyways, let's begin." And so our training session began. We did some running, lifting and other things for strength. When it had been an hour Rose finally asked,

"Do you know any self-defence?" She looked down in the floor as she asked me it and I got almost a little worried.

"Yes." I answered short and sharp. My voice had changed, it sounded a little chilly but it was just because I tried to hide my concern. "Why would you want to learn self-defence?" I regretted asking her directly after the words left my lips and she looked up at me. She examined me for a little while as if considering if to tell me or not.

"Well, it's just…" She started and then shrugged. "My friend practice self-defence and it looks fun so I thought about giving it a try." I could hear that she lied but I didn't ask any further questions.

"Let's begin then!" I called as I ran to the other side of the room. She looked surprised to see that I actually did as she asked.

"Stand steadily. Knees bent and use your arms almost like a shield. Your mind can be both your best friend and your worst enemy when it comes to self-defence." I explained and she nodded. She tried to do as she was told but even from the distance between us I knew that if I poked her with my finger she would fall. I walked up to her and poked on her. As I thought she fell to the ground and looked like a human pile.

"What did I do wrong?" Rose exclaimed as she lay on the floor, slamming her head in the floor.

"You stood in the wrong position." I said with a shrug.

"I stood as you said I should!" Her outburst almost made me laugh but I hugged my self-control like it was my lifeline.

"Come on, let me show you." I smiled as I gave her my hand and helped her on feet.

"Like this." I showed her and she copied. I shook my head when I watched her position.

"No Rose, you have to weight more on the leg in front of you, not behind you. So because you stand with your right leg in front you need to give more of your body weight on your right leg and not left. If you're giving more weight to the left leg you'll fall backwards when someone attacks!" I placed my hand on her right leg and pushed it down a little to show her but as I did I felt a current of electricity flash through me. I quickly pulled away and my eyes met hers. Her eyes were truly beautiful… _Get a hold of yourself Dimitri!_ I yelled at myself.

We kept practicing and for the first time in a very long time I had a great time and not only because I liked my job but because I found Rose very funny. She was seven years younger than me though and was only eighteen when she got her twins, Jason and Jared. Then two years later she got Audreya who was only two years old today. Jason and Jared was therefore four years old. She didn't mention her husband though…

When we felt like it was enough for today I went into the staff locker room and got the things I needed in my locker and then continued into the room where it stood, "STAFF – MEN". I showered and when I came out from the staff's locker room, Rose stood outside and leaned against the wall.

"What are you still doing here?" I couldn't help the little laugh that escaped my mouth. Rose jumped in surprise.

"Oh, ehm… I'm waiting for, hm, you…" She hesitated and now it was my turn to get surprised. She was waiting for me? Why?

"Okay, here I am." I frowned and she blushed a little and I could see that she was considering – again – if to say what she was supposed to or just give me another lie.

"I wanted to thank you for today and wondered if you wanted to come for dinner sometime… If you're not busy of course and that is… if you want to." I was very unprepared on the question but I could see how Rose was now preparing herself mentally on my response.

"You don't have to do that Rose. I had a great time, training with you so that's my reward." I smiled but she didn't really seem satisfied with my answer.

"But I want to! I think that it could be fun getting to know each other a little better if we're going to continue to train together." As Rose acted right now, I would never take her for a shy girl. She seemed much more open and I started to like this side of her.

"Okay but then you just decide a day and time." I laughed and she thought about it for a minute before answering,

"How about tomorrow night at seven pm?" She asked and laughed a little. Before leaving she smiled warmly again.

"Thank you once again Dimitri. You've been such a help and I promise that I'll come back. How about every Tuesday and Thursday?" She reached up and gave me a hug. I was surprised but before I could hug her back, she pulled away.

"Both sounds great and really, I meant what I said. Practicing with you was really a lot of fun." I replied and smiled back for the thousand time this evening.

"See you tomorrow then comrade!" Rose called as she started running towards the exit and she waved with a wide smile placed on her lips.

I waved back and in my head I said, _"See you tomorrow Rose"…_

**RPOV**

Lissa had recommended that gym to me and she said that Dimitri was the best but she never mentioned that he was so damn hot! I felt bad for thinking naughty thoughts about me and Dimitri even after our first meeting because of what had happened between me and Mason but who could judge me by my thoughts when they didn't know what I was thinking?

Everything about Dimitri seemed so perfect. His long dark brown hair – not as dark as mine -, the tall figure with _a lot _of muscles and those deep brown eyes. Oh his eyes!

I came home and when I opened the door I found Lissa, Christian and Adrian sitting on the floor in the living room and Jason, Jared and Audreya were all fast asleep on the couch.

"Hey Rose!" Lissa called quietly from the living room when she spotted me in the hall.

"Has everything been going good?" I asked and they all nodded.

"After playing some games they all got tired and fell asleep." Lissa explained and I looked and my children. Suddenly Lissa got a look on her face that meant problems.

"What's wrong?" I asked and frowned. She looked back and forth between me and the two boys that were still sitting on the floor. She sighed heavily and prepared herself mentally for what was ahead of her when she would tell me.

"Mason called." I recoiled at her two simple words. I staggered a few steps backwards until I felt the wall – maybe it was the door – against my back and I slipped down on the floor. I buried my face in my hands as I let the words sink in.

"And what did he say?" I asked as I looked up at her. She sat down on the floor.

"He said that you made him a promise a week ago that you would take the children to him and they would stay with him for the weekend." Lissa told me what Mason had said but I didn't want to hear it. I had been telling him that maybe we could visit him over a day but not let him have the children for the weekend. Audreya was too young and I knew that they would all miss me, since I was their mother and they always lived with me. I refused to stay at Mason's place, not even for one single night. Not after everything he'd put me through …

**What has Mason done to Rose? Dimitri got invited to her home to eat dinner, what do you think about that? Why not leave a review and see what Santa brings you for the next chapter ;)** **Until next time …**


	2. Chapter 2

**So Santa actually came with an early chapter for you! Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, no, I don't own VA :( But luckily I do own this story :)**

**DPOV**

_Shit_, I swore to myself. I was ending work for today and at seven, I'd had to be at Rose's place and the worst part, I'd forgotten to ask for her address.

"What are you still doing here?" Alberta asked as she came in to the locker room, grabbing her things.

"I've totally messed up!" I kept on speaking to myself, swearing in Russian.

Alberta laughed and enjoyed seeing me so frustrated.

"What have you now done Dimitri?" She asked in amusement. I pulled both of my hands through my hair and sighed deeply.

"Wow, cool down Dimitri! You're pulling _both_ hands trough your hair! That means you _really_ messed up and you're _really _frustrated." Alberta joked and I couldn't keep the smile off of my face.

"So tell me, how did you mess up?" I sighed again and she tilted her head from on side to another a few times.

"Do you remember the girl from yesterday, Rose? She got to borrow your trousers after getting soaked by the rain." Alberta nodded.

"She wanted to thank me for the training session and asked me to come home to her for dinner and I'm supposed to be at her place at seven pm but I forgot to ask for her address." For the third time, I sighed. Alberta patted me on my shoulder and then gave me a small smile.

"You know we keep a record over everyone who trains here, including their addresses if they'd like a training session at home. Rose left her address to me when she was going home yesterday." Alberta smiled a big smile know, clearly amused.

"You did?" I exclaimed and ran to or archive where we kept all or records. I brought out the ones for May 2014 and opened the tab where it stood H for Hathaway. I found her quickly since she was the last one we put in there and therefore her page lay over all the other papers.

I read her address and wrote it down on a piece of paper.

On my way out I met Alberta again and I thanked her before heading home, getting ready for tonight when I would meet Rose again.

**RPOV**

"Jason, pick up your toys from the floor!" I shouted from downstairs so that Jason would hear me. Being mother to two four year old twin brothers and one two year old girl was not the easiest thing and I didn't look forward to when they would all be teenagers.

When Jason didn't come down I walked upstairs and found him sitting by my computer playing some computer game and listening to music. Kids were too quickly developed today. He was four years old and played computer games when he should be calling a friend and play outside, get his clothes dirty and I would have to wash them twice a day… Maybe computer games weren't so bad after all.

"Jason!" I yelled when I plugged out his headphones from the computer and the loud techno music screamed loudly from the computer.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not have such loud volume on when you're listening to music? And come downstairs and pick up your toys, we're getting a visit tonight." I repeated for the thousand time.

"But mom, I'm in the middle of a game!" Jason exclaimed with his eyes stuck on the screen. I bent down and unplugged the computer so that the screen went black.

"Mom!" Jason screamed and started hitting me with his fists. Even though it didn't hurt it was still rude and if he did this tonight I would look like the worst mother in the world – which I probably was…

"Stop it Jason! If you don't behave tonight I'll cancel Saturday night for you and you will not get to have a sleepover at Kimberly's place. I still don't like the idea of you staying with your friends, you're too young." I barked and Jason's eyes were starting to tear up. I bent down so that we stood face to face.

"Look Jason, tonight is very important you behave. The same rules applies for Jared and Audreya. Can you please at least try? The man who's visiting us is important, he's helping me with something I can't do on my own and if he thinks I'm a bad mother he'll stop helping me…" I tried to explain but how to do so to a four year old boy?

"But mom, you're the best mom in the world!" Jason said before hugging me tightly and now I could feel tears burn in my eyes. My kids were the best kids in the world but I felt like I couldn't show their good side to anyone since they couldn't behave around people.

"Now can you help the best mom in the world and go downstairs and pick up your toys?" I smiled and Jason nodded quickly before sprinting down and when I came down he was picking up his toys from the floor, putting them in the toy box.

"Thank you Jason, oh, and you picked up your brothers toys as well!" I said surprised. Jason hated to clean so I couldn't understand why on earth he would pick up Jared's toys as well.

"Yes I did so next time he'll pick up mine, right?" Jason's brown eyes sparkled with expectation. I nodded in agreement.

"He owe you one." I smiled and now Jason jumped up and down in happiness, knowing he would have to pick up his toys the next time. Hopefully he wouldn't spread them all around the house so that Jared would have a hard time cleaning after his brother.

I took a quick shower and started to fix myself after making sure the boys were ready. I got dressed in a navy blue dress that sat plastered to my body and showed off my curves and thin figure. The dress ended a little bit above my knees and at first I thought that maybe the dress was too short but soon decided that it would do. I let my hair hang loose and without fixing it. My long locks hang along my back and over my shoulders. I chose to wear high heels so that I wouldn't look so short beside Dimitri. I couldn't really tell why on earth I wanted to look so good, why I fixed myself so but it was this feeling that just told me to do so.

I put on a Smokey eye makeup and chose a mix between red and brown lipstick. I didn't want to look too dressed up but I couldn't look very casual either, not with that sexy Russian being in the same house as me. Oh, that accent of his…

My dreaming about how handsome Dimitri was, ended by the sound of my dear twins arguing about something. And they arguing meant that Audreya was crying.

I ran downstairs picked up a crying Audreya in my arms and separated on the twins.

"What now?" I yelled in frustration.

"Jason says I have to clean after him next time just because he picked up two of my toys today! You know how messy Jason is mom!" Jared whined. _Don't remind me of how messy Jason was, not after all the times I had to clean after him…_

"Can we talk about this later tonight? When our guest has gone home!" I exclaimed and looked between my boys. They nodded reluctantly and that's when the knock resounded.

I opened the door with Audreya still sitting in my arms. Outside stood Dimitri looking down and when he finally noticed I'd opened the door he quickly looked up.

"Hi." Was the only thing I could say when our eyes met. I examined him from top to toe. His hair was out and he was wearing a white shirt with the three first buttons unbuttoned together with a pair of loose fitting jeans. He was looking amazing. Suddenly he gave me bouquet of flowers, roses. Of all flowers you could get he'd chose roses. It was very sweet of him and I have to admit that I usually didn't like roses, like a necklace with a rose on it or something else but this was different. When it came from him it felt almost… romantic.

"I don't know if you like flowers but I didn't think it would be nice coming empty handed." He said quickly and I felt myself blush a little.

"Oh you didn't have to but thank you. I'll go put this in a vase. Come in, please, don't stand out there. Oh right, these are my kids, Audreya, my youngest and then we have Jason and Jared, my twins." Dimitri examined the three kids and when his eyes turned to Jason and Jared he almost stared.

"Is something wrong?" I asked afraid they were doing something when I had my back against them. I looked at them but they gave me an innocent look back.

"No I just… I didn't know they would look exactly the same." Dimitri admitted. I nodded, relieved. _Thank god…_

**DPOV**

I could have stared at Rose the whole evening. How could someone look so beautiful. She was too good to be true. No one and I mean _no one_ should be able to look like that. It should actually be illegal. Though I was kind of happy she did. Her kids were really nice. The twins adored me when I showed them what kind of different tricks I could do. We even did a competition about who could do the most push-ups. I let the twins win and they added their points up together. Together they got four push-ups so I did three and pretended to be super tired. They were great kids and I could see the joy sparkle in their dark brown eyes. They had Rose's eyes but Audreya did not, her eyes were blue. But Audreya had Rose's hair while the twins both had red hair. I liked them a lot.

"One hundred and three, one hundred and four, one hundred and five…" Jared counted while I did my personal challenge which was to do as many push-ups as I could while Jason was sitting on my back.

"Why didn't you do this many before?" Jason asked and I tried to come up with a lie.

"I needed some warm-up." I said and kept on going until Rose called us from the kitchen that it was time for dessert. The twins hurried into the kitchen and I soon followed. Rose stood with the dishes while the boys ate ice cream with chocolate mousse.

"There's some for you too." She smiled and gestured for me to sit down with the twins and eat some too.

"I'm not really hungry any longer." I laughed patting my stomach. Rose gave me a shy smile and nodded.

"Mommy, can we watch movie?" Audreya asked-.

"You say, "Can we watch _a_ movie". But if Dimitri feels like doing it, I'm okay with it." Rose said to her daughter and Audreya turned her pleading eyes towards me and I nodded with a smile. She got off her chair and hurried into the living room to pick out a movie and the twins soon followed her. It didn't take long until they were arguing about which movie to watch.

"I'm sorry I have to take this -" Rose started to say the sentence but I cut her off.

"I could take them if you'd like to finish up the dishes. Don't worry, I've been taking care of little kids before." I strode into the living room and helped the kids to choose movie. In the end we decided that we'd watch some cartoon that I couldn't really recognize. But I wasn't paying attention to the movie either. The only thing I was paying attention to was Rose. I knew I shouldn't, not since she was married and had kids, it wouldn't be fair to the kids.

After two hours of watching cartoons, the twins sat leaning against each other, sleeping and Audreya was fast asleep in Rose's arms. Rose was barely awake either.

She turned off the TV and looked at me with an excusing look.

"Sorry for making you stay this long, it's not fair. I guess it didn't really turn out as I wanted this to. But thank you again, for helping me with the kids earlier and for coming at all." She was clearly rambling so I shook my head quickly.

"Rose, don't worry. I had fun, you're kids are great." I laughed and Rose stopped talking, just staring at me.

"You think my kids are great?" She asked shocked. I couldn't see why she would be shocked.

"Yes they are great. They're a lot like their mother. But Rose… Are you sure your husband is okay with you inviting me over?" Rose recoiled at the word husband, was is not okay?

"I'm not married!" She exclaimed, suddenly acting panicked. I looked down at her hand and no, there was no ring there.

"Has he passed away?" I blurted out without thinking.

"I have to put the kids to bed…" Rose excused but also with this I helped her. I carried the twins up and she took Audreya. I got the weird feeling of being part of something, in this case this family. I couldn't tell if it was a good feeling or not, it felt good to me but it probably wasn't good if thinking a little bit beyond myself as well.

When the children lay in their beds, fast asleep, Rose and I returned downstairs and I started to put on my jacket.

"Mason…" She suddenly said in a silent voice. I knew I must have looked confused because she sighed and then took a deep breath to prepare herself for whatever was to come.

"The father to the kids, his name was Mason but we were never married. I don't want to involve you in something you shouldn't have to endure so that's all I'll tell you." Rose explained and now I started to get it.

"Hey, you can tell me. Whatever's bothering you, I promise to help you as much as possible." I promised but Rose shook her head.

"No Dimitri, maybe some other day when I know you're ready to hear this story but not today. I need to know that you won't get involved even if I told you because if you did, people would get hurt and more than I could count…"

**So Rose and Mason's relationship seems kind of off… A little dangerous as well. Dimitri is trying to push away his feelings but even if they've just met for the second time we can't deny it, they are madly in love… But like Dimitri said, can they be together because of the kids. And aren't just the twins to sweet 3**

**I'll try to update ASAP! Don't forget to review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**I've been working on updating fast but it's a lot easier now when I've got summer break. **

**Also I'd like to thank "guest" for his/her review. You told me to slow down the story a bit, that it was moving too fast forward and I can agree but I am R&D crazy so I apologize, I'll make sure they take it easy ;) It's good you tell me what I'm doing wrong so that I can correct it :) **

**Enjoy chapter 3!**

**RPOV**

I kicked again and again and again. Trying over and over again. Failing over and over again…

"Again!" Dimitri yelled with a strict voice and I did as I was told. I felt myself get angrier and angrier by each second that passed by and soon I was kicking towards the punching bag of pure hatred. I suddenly felt Dimitri's hands on my shoulders.

"Calm down." He ordered in his usual calm and deep voice. I didn't stop, not until he grabbed me by my waist and turned me around so that I was facing him.

"Calm down I said." He repeated and I started taking deep breaths to not start to cry.

"Why can't I do it? Why can't I do it like you do it?" I asked and Dimitri sighed heavily when letting go of me. I'd been training with Dimitri twice a week, sometimes three days per week for a couple of months now and we had grown close – as friends though. I'd realized that even though Dimitri was sexy as hell, we couldn't rush anything. Especially since I didn't think he felt something for me. I liked him – a lot – and I wouldn't mind getting to know him for real but as I said, we couldn't be together for the time being.

"You can't do it because you're too angry. The calmer you are the better concentration you get and that means you can hit better. When it comes to self-defence it's mostly about only believe in yourself, you have to trust that you can protect yourself towards any type of danger." Dimitri explained and I nodded. "Let's do some running, it's nice weather outside and I guess that we could use to talk some bit…"

In five minutes we were ready to start running. We were both silent from the beginning until Dimitri asked,

"So how are the kids doing? I've missed them since the dinner." I smiled because he mentioned my kids. They'd been nagging me to death because they wanted to see Dimitri again, especially the twins.

"They're doing great actually. They miss you too, I should know since they've been begging me to invite you home again." I laughed and what I said made Dimitri laugh too.

It made my whole body warm when he laughed. I couldn't understand what he was doing here of all places, he belonged to the big cities even though he came from a small village in Russia.

My heartbeat quickened when we'd been running for awhile. Dimitri always seemed so calm, not worried. In other words, he was my opposite.

"Rose…" Dimitri's always so calm voice now sounded worried and I didn't like it.

"Yes comrade?" I tried to ease up the tension by joking about the nickname I'd come up with for him and he hated it – that was obviously why I kept on using it.

"Where is he? Mason I mean." Why did he have to bring up Mason of all things?

"Should I answer that honestly?" I asked and he gave me a questioning look. I sighed heavily and continued, "I don't know actually. I wish I did though."

"For the kids?" I nodded but then thought about it, he didn't know the whole story yet and neither would he.

"Mostly for the kids, yes." It was the best answer I could give him without lying. Though, somehow he did noticed the little opening in my answer and he clearly wanted to fill that empty space in.

"Mostly? Roza, what did that man do to you?" _Roza…_ Oh, I just loved that nickname for me.

"Dimitri don't force me to tell you a story you will regret you ever heard. I haven't told anyone but my closest friends, not even my mother knows the whole thing." I exclaimed sadly. Dimitri looked a little shocked because of my outburst but he soon decided to challenge me, which I wish he hadn't done.

"What if I do want to know? What if I can help you?" He suggested and now I got really angry. All the feelings I'd been keeping in for so long, they just came up to the surface.

I stopped suddenly, breathing heavily and started,

"You can't help me with this Dimitri! You're not a hero that can save everyone, no matter how much you feel like doing it. You're probably the nicest guy I've ever met, most of them just run to the opposite direction when they get to know I have three children. You didn't, instead you helped me the first night you came to my home and for that I'm always grateful but the two of us, together? That's not even an option. My kids loves you, that's true but I can't admit to you the feelings that I'm actually developing for you, not after just a few months –" Dimitri cut me off by pulling me towards him and pressed his lips against mine.

**(A/N – Sorry guys, I know I told you I'd take it slow but I couldn't help myself! There'll be some twists later on though, I've got this story kind of planned out now.)**

I knew I shouldn't have done it but I gave in, pressed my mouth against his even harder and granted his tongue entrance when he asked for it. Since we were already out of breath after the running we had to pull away to get some much needed air into our lungs.

"You, Rose Hathaway are the most amazing woman, I've ever met…" Dimitri breathed and I couldn't help the smile that was entering my face.

"Can't say I'm not a little too sweaty for just one run." I joked and Dimitri laughed. He did that a lot lately. An idea suddenly hit me.

"The kids would love if you'd come over tonight. Jason has been practicing his push-ups so you better be careful, that boy is strong." Dimitri smiled but soon pulled me into his arms so that my head rested towards his chest. Dimitri rested his cheek on the top of my head and whispered, "I hope that you someday will let me in Roza because I want to help you, whatever it's about. You know that don't you?" I sighed heavily just because I knew.

"Too bad I'm beyond saving…"

**Okay guys, I know it's been way too long since updating now, what is it 2 days? ;)**

**And I'm sorry for the absolutely too short chapter but I will make it up to you, pinkyswear! **


	4. Chapter 4

**I know it's been way too long since last time but since I'm writing my other story "My Dare Became My Best Friend" (also for VA) at the same time as this one I chose to put that story before this since that one is more popular. **

**Well here's chapter 4!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or its characters!**

I was looking into mirror deciding if this dress was too nice. I wanted to look good and healthy but not too nice because I didn't want to give Mason that kind of satisfaction. I only had a few hours until Dimitri would come so I had to hurry. Mason had called earlier today – just after practice with Dimitri – and said he wanted to talk. Since it was about the kids I was forced to come otherwise he would and I wouldn't let him close to my kids.

I decided for another dress instead. An elegant dark green dress that looked sophisticated but I still looked like a mother I was. I wore black high heels to it but I wasn't too happy about how much of my legs this dress showed off. Mason would probably like it and that was what bothered me…

I tried to start the car but it decided to not work so I had to walk! I came to café on the exact time we'd decided to meet and found Mason sitting on a chair near a window. _Thank god…_

I thought when I realized he could harm me when everyone else saw. He would sink that low, so much I knew about him.

"Rose!" Mason exclaimed when he saw me. He gave me the boyish smile that I'd once fallen for but I didn't let myself get tricked again, never.

"Mason." I greeted with a nod and stood beside him. "What did you want to talk about? Hurry up because I'm supposed to have a guest tonight!" I hissed at him and he looked amused by my bitter mood.

"Well, first – how have you been? It feels like ages ago since I saw you. You look different… Happier?" Mason examined me and I slapped him with my flat hand on his cheek.

He looked even more amused now but you could see the small amount of pain in his eyes.

"Right, I should get to my point…" He started and muttered something to himself while looking at my body from top to toe. "To get this straight I'll just say that I want to see my kids. I have the same right to them as you have. They're my kids as well." Mason brought his hand to my thigh and gripped it hard. I tried to back off but he grabbed my waist and pulled my really close as his other hand travelled up and up and up…

"Stop!" I suddenly yelled and got some attention. Mason whispered in my ear,

"Quiet Rose… You know what happens if you don't keep quiet. You're mine and no one is going to touch you – no one but me!" Mason hissed in my ear and I felt tears escape my eyes.

"Should we get somewhere private?" Mason asked and smirked against my neck as his lips kissed down to my shoulder. I couldn't believe he was humiliating me like this in public.

"Mason, please let me go!" I cried and he chuckled. He really liked doing this to me, torturing me, harassing me sexually. The truth behind me and Mason was truly horrifying and I wasn't ready to tell anyone. Lissa, Christian and Adrian knew since they've found me once… But that's something I don't want to think about.

"Let me go jackass!" I shouted and drew the attention towards us. Mason looked stunned that I actually shouted even though I knew the consequences but I had to take this risk. I couldn't let him to this to me any longer. I hated to admit it but I needed help!

"Get him off of me! Help me someone!" I shouted and Mason's eyes turned even darker and this time not because he was turned on. He was angry and his eyes looked like two big black holes. There was a man running outside and fetched a security guard from across the street where there was a club. He grabbed Mason and turned him into the police. I had to leave before anyone noticed me. Otherwise I would have to stay for a hearing and I didn't have that kind of time right now. I sneaked out and ran – fast!

I was almost home when I stopped and just starred down in the ground. I'd started to cry again and I took off my shoes to carry them in my hands but I didn't many steps before I fell on my knees on the side of the road crying and crying. Then I remembered that Lissa was babysitting my kids and I needed to get back or they would start getting worried. I took a quick look in a little mirror I always had in my purse and damn it! I looked horrifying.

"Rose?" I froze. Double damn it! That was Dimitri's voice. I looked up at him from where I was sitting on my knees on the side of the road my face red from all the tears.

"Oh my god Rose, are you okay?" Dimitri exclaimed and kneeled down beside me. He wrapped his arms around me in a tight comforting hug. I shook my head and he sighed.

"We can't return to your kids when you look like this. They'll get worried. Can you text someone and ask them to stay with the kids?" Dimitri asked and I nodded. I picked up my phone and sent a simple text to Lissa,

_*Something happened with Mason. I can't come home tonight, can you watch the kids? There's food in the fridge which you can warm in the micro. Call me if anything happens!_

_Rose, xx*_

I soon got a text back.

_*I'll call Christian and Adrian to come. Are you okay? Can I pick you up somewhere? If you don't reply me I'll think something has happened, something serious so answer me immediately! Lissa, xx*_

I answered her that I was fine but needed one night off. Dimitri had parked his car a little further away since he wanted to surprise the kids and when I stood up my feet really hurt.

"What's wrong?" Dimitri asked when he noticed how weird I walked.

"My feet hurt." I answered with a shrug. I guess I was a little more like myself now. What Mason was doing to me wasn't okay and I knew it but I knew that if he wanted to hurt me or the kids he could and I wouldn't let that happen. Well, rather me than the kids but who would take care of them? Mason? Over my dead body!

"You want me to carry you?" Dimitri answered with a boyish smile playing over his lips. I was a little taken back by the question but then giggled. Oh god, this man turned me into a giggling teenager… Then he suddenly picked me up in his arms and started carrying me like a bride and I giggled and squealed of excitement. He made me remember what it was to be young and not have to take responsibility over three small lives. For a moment I could relax and not think about what was going to happen now that I'd done exactly what I was not supposed to. We arrived at his car but he didn't let me down. We had a really intense moment when our eyes melted into each others.

"The ways you make me feel Rosemarie Hathaway!" Dimitri smiled and I leaned in to kiss him softly. The kiss deepened more and more and I felt myself get a little too passionate with him. I didn't want to end up having sex in the backseat with him after all… Maybe sometime but not today, definitely not today!

"Where are you taking me?" I asked as we sat in the car and we're heading towards town. Dimitri smiled and took my hand.

"I thought that maybe you needed to relax and I live alone so I thought about taking you to my apartment, if you're okay with it. It's not exactly your house but it's a place where you won't have to think about having to worry. And Rose…" Dimitri hesitated and I could almost swear I knew what was to come.

"I know you don't want to but I _need_ you to tell me about the guy you were married to before." Dimitri really did command me to tell him about Mason and maybe I would… But I didn't want to involve him in this.

"First of all, Mason and I were never _ever_ married and neither do I wish we ever were. And second, I'm not sure that _I'm_ ready to tell the story all over again. We've known each other for a couple of months Dimitri and that' not much! I need some time to think this through before telling you everything that I've gone trough these past years." I felt tears burn in my eyes again but I pushed them aside as I found Dimitri looking intensely at me. His grip around my hand hardened but it didn't hurt.

"I want to help you. I have no idea what that man did to you and I need to know how far you're ready to go with me. If you even want to be with me. We have these problems you know. We've got the age different – seven years – and also your kids." I looked at him when he mentioned my kids.

"You know that my kids adore you Dimitri. That's probably our smallest problem and for the age difference – I don't care! I don't care if you're seven or ten or twenty years older than me but I want to try. I want to try this with you and if I screw up – too bad." I hadn't even noticed that Dimitri had stopped the car in front of a huge building and I could only stare.

"You live here?" I exclaimed with big eyes.

"Yes I do. I mean, the building might look big but that only means it rooms more apartments. Don't get too excited." Dimitri chuckled and I followed him inside. We stepped into an elevator which looked like it was built yesterday. Dimitri pushed the button where it said twenty-three.

"You live on the twenty-third floor?" I exclaimed all over again but this time louder. Dimitri really had to hold on to his self-control to not laugh his ass of. Something told me had this smart mouth comment on his tongue and I was right,

"Hope you're not afraid of heights…" He teased and I shook my head.

"Hell no, I love heights!" It was true. I took the twins to an amusement park but they were too small to do the real fun things. Like going with the killer rollercoaster. Maybe Dimitri would come with us next time. Things were moving a little too fast between the two of us but somehow I liked it. I knew I shouldn't date other guys but at the same time, perhaps it was good for the kids – especially the twins – to have a man at home to look up to. Dimitri was the perfect role model for my boys and I hoped that he'd stick with me long enough to teach Jason and Jared how to act good around people.

Just then I got a text and when I read it, my blood turned into ice. The text said,

_*Rose you should know by now that you won't get rid of me that easily! I took my time and gave you visit but you weren't home. Instead I was met by four very angry people. I see that you won over Eddie to your side as well. Just remember that it was your entire fault that this happened and if they knew, where do you think you're "friends" will stand then?_

_Yours 4-ever, Mason*_

Apparently Dimitri had read the text over my shoulder without me noticing.

"Is that the father to the kids?" Dimitri's voice was cold and hard. His whole body was tense behind me and I let my jacket and everything I held drop to the floor when we stepped into his apartment.

"Does he have some kind of mental illness Rose?" Dimitri exclaimed, clearly frustrated over Mason's text. I moved towards him and when I came close enough I pulled him down to me so that my lips met his. He relaxed a little bit and kissed me more passionately.

"Tell me Roza, what did that man do to you?" And so my good mood had vanished all over again. I pulled away from Dimitri and sat down the couch. Dimitri soon joined me with two cups of coffee.

"You can't tell _anyone_!" I had no idea of what I was doing but maybe telling him would give me an upper hand. I didn't think Mason even knew about my self-defence classes with Dimitri. I looked straight into Dimitri's eyes and he nodded with a serious look on his face.

I sighed before beginning this painful story.

"It all started in September five years ago…" I started off and Dimitri held his arms around me to comfort me through this whole time. It was time to share this story with someone else that was not a close friend or something. It was time to tell Dimitri, the man I was feeling so strong for! The man I think I loved…

**Sorry guys but I'll leave you hanging there! So Rose has finally decided to tell Dimitri about the story of her and Mason's relationship. You don't know the story but can you give me some guesses of what you think happened between her and Mason?**

**There's one thing I HAVE to ask of you guys though… I really need to know that you like this story so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! If I don't get the reviews I'll have to quit the story so I'm begging of you!**

**Matilda, xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**OMG Thank you guys! You've been reviewing like crazy and keep doing it because it's working. This chapter is especially for those of you who sent one of those really encouraging reviews!**

**So what's Rose's story?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or its characters.**

"It all started in September five years ago when I met Mason Ashford. He was the sweetest guy that I'd ever met. He was caring and thoughtful and a true gentleman. We'd been together for a very short time when I found myself pregnant but even though it felt like we'd known each other for five minutes he was so helpful through the whole pregnancy. But after I gave birth to Jason and Jared everything changed. He started hurting them when they didn't do as he told them but I mean, they were just a few months old. They couldn't understand him and I told this but reaction I wanted never came. Instead we got into a fight and when the twins were six months old came the day when Mason for the very first time lost control and hurt me." The memories made me shiver and my blood freeze and turn into ice but I couldn't stop now. I had started and I had to finish this.

"I told Mason that I wanted to live on my own and that he would never have any contact with the kids at all. He went out of control – again – and this time threatened to go with this to court. I was terrified that I'd have to leave my kids to Mason because I knew what he was capable of. I said that if he let us live on our own he'd get to meet the twins when they turned one. He agreed but I regret that I ever invited him over!" I stared to cry into Dimitri's chest and he held me even tighter.

"Shh Rose, I'm here. Go on, nothing will happen to you when I'm around. I promise that I'll stay here with you and I won't let him get to you or the kids." Dimitri promised and I nodded while sobbing. I pulled away because I didn't want to ruin his shirt. I took a deep breath before continuing.

"When the twins were asleep I told Mason that he had to leave now because it was late and I wanted to sleep as well. I won't tell you the details of what happened next but if you haven't figured it out already – he raped me. I became pregnant again and it was in one way easier to leave Mason because he'd raped me but at the same time harder. Now we would have three kids together and even though he was the devil himself, he was still the father to my kids. I don't know what happened to him because he used to be so kind, both with me and the twins but it was just one day that everything changed. I want to know what happened between the two of us and I want the kids to get a father to look up to." It was quiet for a few minutes until Dimitri finally said,

"Do you want Mason to be their father again?" Dimitri's voice was so calm and so gentle and maybe I should've been happy because he was still holding me in his arms but him being so gentle made me feel guilty. He shouldn't be with me of all possible people but still here he was with me wrapped up in his warm and welcoming arms. Then I remembered his question and I shook my head.

"No, I don't want Mason back, not even if he begged on his bare knees but…" I couldn't tell him, I couldn't tell him that I wanted _Dimitri_ to be the man at home that the kids could look up to. I just couldn't say that to him. Maybe he would feel forced to do it or maybe he'd get scared and run off somewhere he'd never have to see me again.

"If you think I'm leaving you should know that I'm not. Not ever! And I would never, ever, ever, _ever_ hurt you Roza! If you want a man for your kids to look up to I could be their roll model, if you're okay with that. I mean, I guess I'm better than nothing…" I couldn't believe what he was telling me. I kissed him hard on the lips and smiled.

"Would you really do that? I mean it's not like you have to live with us, just eat dinner with us a few times a week and –" I was so excited. Dimitri wanted to be a role model for my kids and I couldn't thank him enough. I really loved him! Wait what? Did I just say that – or well, I was thinking it…

"Of course I would, I mean your kids are great. I'm sure I could teach the twins how to make a hundred push-ups, I can be quite a tough coach." Dimitri chuckled and I leaned my head on his shoulder after crawling onto his knee.

I sat there, relaxing in his arms and eventually we both fell asleep.

I woke up in a big bed. My hair messy after a good nights sleep and the blanket was lying on the floor along with three pillows. I was wearing my dress from yesterday and somehow I was kind of relieved that I was wearing it. That assured me of that I'd been dressed through the whole night. I didn't doubt for a second that I without hesitation would go a little too far with Dimitri but then I noticed Dimitri. He wasn't here at all. I took this chance to look at the room. The sheets were light blue and the bed frame was made of dark wood. In the room was also a red/pink carpet, two wardrobes – one bigger and one smaller – and well, a bedside table. I got up and took my shoes that were standing by the bedside table and walked out from the bedroom. The apartment was like a labyrinth. I had to walk through a pretty long corridor until I came to the end of it and then turn right. Then I got to the door and by turning right again I got into the kitchen. Through the kitchen I came into the living room where I found Dimitri still fast asleep under a thin blanket. He was lucky the couch was long but he was unluckily longer so his legs could not be straight. I decided to make us breakfast and went into the kitchen. I found what I needed and made egg and bacon, sandwiches with cheese and ham and I also made some coffee. I used to be the worst cook but I was forced to learn since Mason couldn't either and someone had to get us food…

I was watching the bacon when I felt two hands on my hips.

"Good morning sunshine." Dimitri kissed my cheek. This almost felt like we were living here together, were married and everyday was like falling over again. I'd always wanted to experience this but Mason wasn't a lot for romance.

"Sleeping Beauty is awake." I laughed and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him down to kiss me.

"It's unbelievable how fast we grew to like each other." Dimitri said after pulling away from our morning kiss and had his forehead resting against mine.

"Only like?" I asked and it was meant as a "joke" but Dimitri pulled away even further and looked hesitantly at me. I regretted what I'd said because this was moving too fast. I knew already that _I _loved him but I didn't know if he loved me back. There was an awkward silence between the two of us before Dimitri decided to just throw it aside.

We ate breakfast, watched some TV, talked and kissed during the morning until I said I had to leave to get home. I couldn't ask Lissa to watch the kids all day. I'd already forced her to stay the night. I brought up my phone as I was supposed to text Lissa that I was coming home and saw that I had missed calls. To be exact I had twenty missed calls! They were all from Lissa so I hurried to call her back. Dimitri looked confused and then worried as he saw my panicked expression. Lissa picked up after the second beep and her voice was hysterical.

"Rose, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to call you all morning!" She yelled and I couldn't help but to feel a little ashamed.

"I'm so sorry Liss, I was fast asleep and then made breakfast and I didn't now my phone was off." I apologized to Lissa a thousand more times before she finally came to the point.

"The police was here Rose, they're looking for you. Right now you're the most wanted person in town!" Lissa exclaimed and I felt myself get cold both outside and inside. My blood froze to ice and I shivered. Dimitri stepped closer and held me close to him.

"Why? Why are they looking for me?" I asked more confused now but the panic wasn't gone yet. I could hear Lissa taking a deep breath before saying,

"You're a suspect of killing someone…" Lissa didn't really finish. It sounded like a sentence but she left out who it was.

"Who?" I spoke my mind out loud and she went silent for a few minutes. "Liss?" I pushed.

"The police think that it was you who murdered Mason this morning."

**Okay so I'm going to finish here. Sorry because it's a little bit short but I'm working on making them longer but there's not much time to write now sadly enough… **

**I'll make sure to update longer chapters and at least one chapter per week!**

**Again, thank you so, so, so much for all reviews and keep it up! Maybe I'll update more often then ;D**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for this crazy late updating but if you look at my other story My Dare Became My Best Friend, you'll see why I haven't been able to UD this. I've been pretty busy with both that one and the book that I'm on my way on publishing :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA or its characters. **

I'd packed my bags, ready to leave and now I just had to wait for Lissa to show up with the kids. This whole plan – which belonged to Dimitri – was freaking me out. I was supposed to hide with another identity as well as my kids but getting them to remember their new names was going to be hard. They weren't very old after all but Dimitri had promised to help me. He would go with us and we would hide in Russia since it was the biggest country and it would be hard to find us. No police would know that I had any kind of connection to Dimitri and his home, therefore we should be safe. Lissa arrived together with Christian, Adrian and the kids at 11.15 and she'd already packed everything the kids needed. I gripped her hand, pulling her into the living room so that my kids couldn't see us. I was shaking all over and then I collapsed into Lissa's arms. She comforted me by stroking her hand over my hair and whispering, "Shh, it'll all be okay. You'll come home soon."

"Oh Liss, what am I supposed to do? What when the kids asks for their father the next time? What am I supposed to tell them, that Mason's dead or out of town or-" I started rambling and Lissa once again tried to calm me down.

"Don't worry Rose, I mean, when was the last time the kids asked for their father? Also I think that if you stick with Dimitri, the kids will see him as their father – especially Audreya who has barely met Mason. She'll be too young to remember him." I didn't know whether I should thank her for what she'd just told me or curse her. Either way I still thanked her and then after wiping away my tears, I walked over to my kids. I got down on my knees asking them all to listen.

"You all have to listen closely to mommy now, do you understand?" It was the first thing I said and it was with a stern and demanding voice. Jared looked like he was about to cry and stepped closer to me, wanting me to hold him in my arms and so I did. I let him sit on my lap and then took Audreya on the other so that they were sharing my lap to sit on.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" Jason asked, concerned and he hid his tears to any price.

"Nothing dear, it's just that you all and mommy and mommy's friend will go on a trip, today." I felt like I was going to cry again but kept my tears inside. Because trust me, I was crying a river inside.

Dimitri soon joined us, kneeling down beside us.

"Listen to mother now and show how great you can be. I know that we don't know each other well but that's a problem that we're going to fix on this trip, right kids?" Dimitri's voice was so calm, steady and cheery it made me wonder how he felt about this. The kids all nodded eagerly. They really loved Dimitri even after meeting him only once but now they would literally live with him – _I_ would live with him. That was probably what worried me the most.

"So when are we going mommy?" Jared asked excitedly. I didn't know how Dimitri did it but I begged to god that he would keep doing it.

"Our flight takes off in a couple of hours dear. Aunt Lissa packed your bags, right?" They all nodded eagerly. And so we took off to the airport.

Getting them all to sit down quietly on the airplane was easier said than done. Jason had pushed Audreya so that she fell and now she was crying. Jared was so mad with Jason while he tried to comfort his little sister. My kids were all so different persons. Audreya was the youngest and therefore the most sensitive while Jason was the reckless one who was most like me in that way. Jared was the kind one that always chose the right side and knew what to do when hard situations came and he was four years old… Jason said he wanted to sit beside Dimitri and Jared said that he could sit together with Audreya behind us. Lucky me, no one else sat with them – otherwise I or Dimitri would have to sit together with one of them. Jason kept on talking to Dimitri, nonstop and I tried to get him to quiet down. Soon enough I fell asleep together with the kids and for once, I didn't wake up within five minutes.

I woke up when we had an hour of flying left. All the kids were still asleep but Dimitri was awake and I was leaning my head against his shoulder. I also had his duster over me as a blanket.

"Sleeping beauty awakes." He greeted me and kissed my forehead. This whole dating thing still felt really off to me and I tried to not go to fast with him but it was hard.

"Hey there, has anyone woken up while I was asleep?" I asked and held his hand, our fingers playing with the others.

"Jared woke up and was thirsty so I bought him water. He wanted coke but I figured I should ask you before I bought him those kinds of sweets. Especially since it's Tuesday." Dimitri smiled and rested his cheek against the top of my head.

"Good. I'd like for him to drink more water and less coke, but I guess he got it from his mother." I tilted my head up so that he could kiss me and he took the chance that I have him.

After a _very_ long day Audreya was now sleeping in Dimitri's arms while he carried her to the hotel that we was going to sleep at for a couple of nights until we could hire a car and get to his parents house to later get our own place. He'd called his mother earlier this morning and asked her if it'd be okay if we stayed there and she was more than happy to have us.

"Mommy, are we there yet? I'm tired! And why is it that Audreya gets to sleep but not Jared me?" Jason cried out loudly and I was getting sick and tired of his whining.

"We're soon there, just hold on a little longer, okay dear? And Audreya gets to sleep because she's youngest and needs most sleep. You can sleep as soon as we arrive at the hotel." That shut him up and I was relieved to finally hear the wonderful silence.

We finally arrived at the hotel and Dimitri checked in while I tried to keep the kids calm. Well, the twins since Audreya was still sleeping.

"Roza, you have to sign here." Dimitri said gently and I gave the kids a killing gaze.

"You two keep calm or otherwise I'll tickle you to death tonight. You got it?" They stood side by side, giggling like little girls and then made a salute.

"Got it captain." That made me laugh and I hurried over to Dimitri's side. He quickly squeezed my hand before letting go.

"I'll watch the kids while you look through the papers, okay?" He asked and I nodded in response. He walked over to Jason and Jared sitting in a big chair. I laughed when I saw that it was a chair meant to room one person but they were so tiny that they both could sit in it.

I turned my full attention to the papers since I trusted Dimitri could watch them perfectly fine.

"That's a very nice family you have there Mrs. Belikov." The receptionist smiled and I looked up abruptly.

"Oh," I said. "I'm not married to him. He's my boyfriend and the kids aren't his." I tried to smile but it was hard to hide my disappointment. Deep inside I wished so dearly that I could've just answered him with a simple, "Thank you sir." But I couldn't.

At night I couldn't stop thinking about Mason. He was dead and even though I hadn't loved him like I loved Dimitri, he was the father to my kids. Dimitri had said that he would act like a father to them but I was afraid. Afraid that he felt like he was forced to do it. I also felt bad for him that he had to spend his life stuck with me and my kids – even if he could leave whenever he felt like – and that he would see it weird that he was acting father to kids that wasn't his own.

I suddenly felt someone tugging the blanket behind me and I turned which woke Dimitri up. It was Audreya who stood with her purple teddy bear that she loved so much and couldn't sleep without but sometimes not even the teddy bear was enough to keep away the nightmares.

"Hey darling, you can't sleep?" I asked and Audreya shook her head.

"I dreamed something bad." Tears welled up in her eyes and I felt my heart clench like always when my kids were crying.

"Oh honey. You want to talk about it?" I asked but she shook her head.

"Can I sleep here mommy?" I looked over at Dimitri who was now wide awake. He smiled softly towards Audreya.

"Of course, there's enough room for all three of us." He said in his calm, gentle and velvet voice. Audreya crawled up in bed and lay down in between Dimitri and me. Soon her breathing steadied and I knew that she was fast asleep.

"Thank you." I whispered and Dimitri opened his eyes again.

"For what?" He whispered back, not wanting to wake the kids. I smiled and was careful when I reached over and took some of his long brown hair in my hand.

"For doing this for us, everything is just too much and I don't know how to repay you."

"You don't have to repay me Roza. I love to be here, I'm home. I'm home with the woman I love and the most wonderful kids that exist." He took my hand in his, also careful not to touch Audreya in her peaceful sleep. I was taken aback since he'd never told me that he loved me. He also seemed to realize what he'd just told me and said, "Sorry, I… I don't know what happened, guess I was just caught up in the moment." I shook my head.

"Don't say that. I love you too Dimitri, don't think that it's one way around. I just don't want this relationship to move too fast. I want my kids to be able to catch up with it too." He nodded and brought my hand to his lips. He kissed my knuckles and then whispered as soft as usual – if not softer now.

"Now, go to sleep Roza. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." I followed his advice and fell into deep and wonderful sleep. That night I dreamed of the future, the one that held Dimitri and me and my kids and even more kids: kids that were mine and Dimitri's…

**Isn't that just soooo sweet? They're almost like a real family. Again, sorry for the late UD but I'll try to UD sooner from now on. I'm travelling out of the country soon but after that I'll be able to UD more often :) Don't forget to leave a review ;)**


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